Sunday, April 1, 2012

Kimberley Bennett Named Director, Jim Beam Heritage Center.

Jim Beam has named Kimberley Bennett as Director of the Jim Beam Heritage Center, the new visitors' experience at Beam's Clermont, Kentucky, distillery that is slated to open this fall.

Bennett will be responsible for the ramp-up plans, training, and ultimate day-to-day operation of the new facility, a multi-million dollar, state-of-the-art visitors’ experience. The Center will offer a complete bourbon experience, from the illustrious seven-generation history of the Beam family, to the art of bourbon-making.

Bennett has spent her career leading hospitality programs for well-known organizations, including the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown and as Director of Hospitality Programs for The World Equestrian Games.

“The new Jim Beam Heritage Center will showcase our past, present and future,” said Jeff Conder, Vice President, North American Operations, Beam Inc. “With her unique skill set in consumer experiences, hospitality and events, Kim will be the perfect leader for our new Center as she ensures that everyone who visits Jim Beam comes as friends, but leaves as family.”

According to Conder, the new Jim Beam Heritage Center is part of a significant tourism project that will allow the distillery to host more than 200,000 guests a year – more than double the previous number of guests it has been able to accommodate – and be a key stop on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail.

In addition to naming Bennett to the Director post, Beam also named long-time employees Linda Hayes, as the Center’s Trade and Hospitality Manager, and Debbie Faust as Still House and Outpost Manager.
Hayes, a Beam veteran with more than 30 years at the company, will oversee the overall visitor experiences for special guests. Faust, who started as the Beam Outpost Manager in 2006, will oversee the Center’s retail operation.

”Linda and Debbie are vital members of the distillery experience,” said Conder. “Together with Kim Bennett, they will make a wonderful team.”